Tagged: Over the Rainbow

February 15th in history:

The red-and-white Maple Leaf flag first flew over Canada on February 15th, 1965.

That same year, the last piece of the Gateway Arch was put in place, 600 feet over the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The Arch has become the most visible symbol of St. Louis, established on February 15th, 1764.

Another arch was immortalized in a tune by songwriter Harold Arlen, born on this day in 1905. He wrote the music to “Over the Rainbow” and the other songs in “The Wizard of Oz.”

If you wanted to sing “Over the Rainbow” over the Internet, you might post a video on YouTube. February 15th, 2005 was the first full day of operation for the do-it-yourself video website, but there were no videos to watch until the following April, when founder Jawed Karim posted a clip of himself visiting the San Diego Zoo.

April 8th in history:

The Venus de Milo was discovered on this day in 1820, on the island of Milos. The famous armless statue of the goddess Venus is now displayed at the Louvre in Paris.

“April in Paris” was one of the famous songs written by lyricist “Yip” Harburg, born April 8th, 1896. Harburg is best known for the lyrics of “Over the Rainbow,” introduced by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.” Garland’s daughter, Liza Minnelli, starred in the movies “Cabaret” and “New York, New York,” both with music composed by Fred Ebb (born April 8th, year disputed).

It was somewhere over the left centerfield fence at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia that Hank Aaron’s 715th home run landed on April 8th, 1974. The Braves slugger broke Babe Ruth’s career record during Atlanta’s home opener of the season. Aaron eventually hit 755 homers…a record that stood until August of 2007, when Barry Bonds surpassed it.

Georgia native G. Harrold Carswell struck out as a Supreme Court nominee, by a 51-45 vote of the U.S. Senate on April 8th, 1970. Federal judge Carswell was Republican President Richard Nixon’s second straight Supreme Court nominee to be turned down by the Democratic-controlled Senate. Nixon blamed an anti-Southern bias for Carswell’s defeat. Carswell blamed liberals for opposing him, and later that month, he launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate from Florida to avenge the vote against him. He lost the Republican primary.

Neither Florida nor Georgia has ever ratified the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, allowing the popular election of U.S. Senators. On this date in 1913, Connecticut became the 36th state to approve the amendment, insuring its passage.

February 29 in history:

No wonder Superman can leap over tall buildings. He’s a leap year baby, according to DC Comics. For the 50th anniversary of Superman comics in 1988, DC declared that the day baby Kal-el was born on Krypton happened to be February 29th on Earth. On February 29th of ’88, a Superman birthday special hosted by Dana Carvey aired on CBS.

In 2011, actor Sean Penn was mentioned as a possible candidate to play Kal-el’s father Jor-el in a future Superman movie. Penn won his first Best Actor Oscar for the movie Mystic River at the Academy Awards on February 29th, 2004. The Best Actress winner that night was Charlize Theron for the film Monster, where she played real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Coincidentally, Wuornos was born on February 29th of 1956.

February 29th also was Oscar night in Hollywood in 1940, when Gone With the Wind won for best picture, best actress, and best supporting actress. Hattie McDaniel won that last award, becoming the first African-American performer to earn an Oscar for acting. The Wizard of Oz was honored for best original score, and best song, “Over the Rainbow.”

About Brad Williams

"Triviazoids" author Brad Williams is the second person ever studied for the syndrome dubbed "superior autobiographical memory" by researchers at the University of California in Irvine.
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Described as "the Human Google" by "Good Morning America," Brad has appeared on "60 Minutes," "NBC Nightly News," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "Live with Regis and Kelly" and CNN.
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Brad works as a radio news anchor on WKTY and Classic Hits 94.7 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His brother, Eric Williams, has made a documentary about Brad, titled "Unforgettable",now available for purchase or rent on Amazon and Vimeo. For information about the film, and to view clips from the documentary, please visit www.unforgettabledoc.com.